Technical Field
The present invention relates to the field of microwave heating, and in particular to a microwave heating apparatus for heating a load by means of microwaves.
Background
The art of microwave heating involves feeding of microwave energy in a cavity. When heating a load in the form of food by means of a microwave oven, there are a number of aspects which have to be considered. Most of these aspects are well-known to those skilled in the art and include, for instance, the desire to obtain uniform heating of the food at the same time as a maximum amount of available microwave power is absorbed in the food to achieve a satisfactory degree of efficiency.
For example, WO02/35886 discloses a microwave oven based on serial feeding of microwaves to a cavity in order to provide heating of a load that is placed in the cavity. With such serial feeding, any microwaves that are reflected from a first feeding port are directed, preferably via a microwave circulator, to a second feeding port. The microwaves that are reflected from the first feeding port are thus fed to the cavity via the second feeding port, thereby increasing the efficiency of the microwave oven. Although using such a serial feeding of microwaves improves the efficiency of the microwave oven, the heating efficiency may still be improved even further.
Thus, there is a need for providing new methods and new apparatuses that would address at least some of the above mentioned issues.